Cerca:liquid sun

Late-night jams in their new studio sees Jazzbois return to their beat-tape roots on Still Blunted

Having established themselves as one of the leading live bands in Europe grooving in improvised jazz motifs and hip-hop beats, Budapest trio Jazzbois return with their fourth LP Still Blunted that sees them touch base with their beat-tape roots.

Now situated in the heart of Buda at their new studio above a club, the Hungarian trio of Bencze Molnár (Rhodes/synth), Viktor Sági (bass) and Tamás Czirják (drums) take a more considered approach to Still Blunted and offer a snapshot into the jams, sessions, and shows they have played over the past year. The new album comes after performing at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival this summer and will be followed by a European tour in October.

Inspired by contemporaries Domi and JD Beck, Kiefer, Nala Sinephro, and the sounds of Radio Juicy, Jazzbois have been more critical of their track selection for the sequel to their Goes Blunt albums. They’ve ripped up their playbook of producing records in a matter of days and took their time to approach the record through reworking their favourite tracks recorded over the past year.

“We’re trying to keep the same formula but there was a lot of thought gone into the process of making an improvised jam sound like a song. It has to be good in the moment, and we chose the ones we felt were expressive and resonated the most with us musically. We focus on our feelings in the moment and have trust in our own taste and music visions.”

The trio’s new studio has offered them the space and time to get the best out of their creativity. “This new spot is a Jazzbois headquarters. It’s above this club, sometimes there's a DJ playing outside on the street – everyday there's something on and lots of people coming and going. We hang out for the whole day and just record anything or edit.”

Jazzbois are a part of the rich, underground jam scene in Budapest, and those improvised-led sessions have fed into Still Blunted. One of their late-night jams turned after-parties produced sketches for tracks they selected for the album.

“It was the end of a wild night celebrating getting the album done. We’re having a jam and we looked around while we were recording and there was twenty people smoking and drinking around us – half of them we didn't even know who they are. It turned into an open after-party where people were coming to ours from the club. It was very spontaneous and unexpectedly, we made five or six new songs we ended up using for the album.”

The ethos of those unplanned, open jams is something they carry through into their live shows, as they never rehearse so their music can develop freely. Their trusted fourth ‘live’ member DomBeats joins them on Still Blunted adding saxophone to some of the psychedelic-tinged beats, such as on singles Shangri La and Chrome. After recently digging back into 70s and 80s jazz, discovering more hip-hop sampled tracks, and absorbing the breaks and high-energy of footwork and juke, these influences come through strong across Still Blunted.

The footwork sound is replicated in the shuffling, busy drums of Shangri La, with the echoing guitar twang reminiscent of a sample you may hear on an MF Doom beat. “Shangri La was a catalyst for the new album. It reflects on our trip to America and SXSW. We played at this venue Shangri La. The Texan air and sun are in that track.”

Chrome takes on a much more furious style of playing that allows for the drums to cascade and flow along with the pulsating, chromatic bass line, with the synths and saxophone spiralling into an engrossing frenzy. The liquidy keys and synths glides over the bass on Flute Thang, creating a 70s jazz-funk vibe that stands out from the rest of the album.

With hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners across Spotify and Apple Music, they have become a playlist staple that has earned them millions of streams since their debut release Jazzbois Goes Blunt in 2019. As more live dates are booked for the Hungarian trio, Jazzbois continue to transform the traditional jazz trio sound into deep, groove-led beats on Still Blunted.

Repress!

This year, get ready for KONK! with the ultimate collection The Magic Force Of Konk 1981-1988. This white hot Limited Edition 3xLP set is a lovingly composed Deluxe retrospective, showcasing the Definitive Sounds Of A New York Jazz Punk Afro Funk Disco Machine.
The Magic Force Of Konk 1981-1988 is a testament to the bands artistic staying power, the music sounding as fresh now as it did then, from the crossover funk grooves of the ‘Planet Rock’ inspired ‘Konk Party’, to the innovative punk funk synth bass of club hit ‘Your Life’, the bands influence indisputably lives on in this specially created deluxe collection. This beautifully designed package is a feast for the senses, looking as good as it sounds and sure to please fans of Liquid Liquid, ESG, Pigbag, James Chance, Soul Sonic Force, LCD Soundsystem, to name but a few, or simply those intrigued by those tales of wild nightlife that have become synonymous with the vitality of 1980’s downtown New York City.

Omni – meaning all-encompassing – is an apt title for celebrating over a decade of existence of Blue Hour Music. Marking the musical diversity and longevity of Blue Hour's imprint, the Omni V/A series
brings together a wide range of artists from the full electronic music spectrum, plunging into a pool of techno, trance, breaks and everything in between.

Balmat began our journey in 2021 with the release of Luke Sanger’s Languid Gongue. Now, three years later, we turn an important corner as the Norfolk musician rejoins us with Dew Point Harmonics, the first repeat appearance on the label. Sanger’s new album feels like a natural extension of his inaugural record for Balmat: It’s a bewitching collection of esoteric synth sketches that slips unpredictably between consonant repetition, poignant melodies, and gnarled bursts of noise that catch in the ear like burrs in hiking socks.

That natural metaphor is perhaps not accidental. Despite having been composed on Sanger’s diverse array of hardware and self-written software, many of the tracks were first conceived while Sanger was hiking in a particularly wild and isolated section of the Norfolk coast. The field recording that opens the album, on “6am Beach Walk,” was taken on one of his many early-morning walks there, in which he and his dog might go for miles without seeing another soul. The album’s title was inspired by the overnight condensation covering the long marram grass in the dunes, glistening in the early light (and drenching everything coming in contact with it) before evaporating in the morning sun. Indeed, the concept of dew point—the temperature at which water vapor condenses into a liquid—feels like the perfect metaphor for Sanger’s music, in which foggy ambience is distilled into glistening quicksilver orbs, transient spheres of perfection eventually absorbed back into the atmosphere.

A shapeshifting collection of richly detailed and deeply expressive electronic miniatures, Dew Point Harmonics is both a testament to the mysteries of transformation and an invitation to get lost in the wilderness of your own imagination.

Belgian DJ and producer Gratts have joined forces with London-based vocalist Mr. Beale to follow up on to success of their well-received 'Sun Circles' release last year. Here, on the sublime 'Submerge Me', they are in fine form once more with a brooding sound that features the uniquely mesmerising mantras of Beale and plenty of raw, compelling and percussive grooves that full lock you in and get you going. Versatile Records' own Gilb'r then steps up on the flip and manages to take things even deeper with some fine liquid dub excursions to complete a top 7"

The second release of Dynamic Reflection's Time Crystals series explores the deeper end of the musical spectrum somewhat. Function's opening track delivers almost ten minutes of downtempo modulations before Viels' Fragile kicks in: punchy, gritty and dancefloor oriented.

Dynamic Reflection head honchos and curators Abstract Division give a 'less is more' college with Convolution, keeping tension high at all times without ever dropping the kick for more than a couple of beats. The closing track sees Ben Buitendijk, Shoal and Vand collaborating under their DOM moniker for this special occasion, delivering a piece of trippy and stubborn techno.

Quantum Realm is part of Dynamic Reflection's 15 year anniversary celebration: Time Crystals. This is the second of five EP's. Own all five and an all new, visual piece of art will appear.

Here we are - the new release from the italian project Club Soda is finally here!

The trio, made up of Nicola on bass, Simone on drums and samplers, and Filippo on keys, is bringing some real, raw, authentic sounds to the table. Their first LP, "Vibin' Places" dropped in 2020 and it's a versatile homemade electronic album that hits different, whether you're a listener, DJ, or clubber.

This new EP is fire too. A1 track "Basso e Batteria" with Sara Loreni on lyrics and vocals, has clear echoes of a '00s vocal-house joints, but sounds like it was recorded in a Chicago basement. The dirty grooves, thumping bass, and enveloping pads create a free-form vibe that's perfect for you summer madness.

But then they go and take it to the next level with the remixes on B side. Cristalli Liquidi's remix is on some current dance floor-ish, with bouncing rhythms, a wild bassline, and a catchy vocal cut. And Hill's dub mix is straight up trippy - like you're lost in a warehouse at 6am, with dreamy pads, a solid bassline, and rhythms that are distant but still pull you in.

And let's not forget "Gin Tonic" (A2) - it's a dope sunset jam session that's pure “Club Soda style”, with congas, DX7 keys, funky bass, and an MPC chop. This EP is the real deal, from start to finish! Shout out to Giulia Dall’ Ara for the sick artwork on the cover and label too - she killed it!

12" + 7" !

Mind Maze is, amazingly, Trees Speak’s fifth album to be released on Soul Jazz Records in the space of little over two years– an output matched only by the intensity of their music created during this short time.

The first pressing only of the album comes with a bonus seven-inch single containing two tracks that are not available on vinyl anywhere else.
As with all their previous releases, ‘Mind Maze’ is a mind-boggling tightrope walk across an array of musical influences that seamlessly create the unique present-day world of Trees Speak.

The band’s sound is characterized by a combination of German krautrock motoric-beat rhythms, angular New York post-punk attitude, 60s spy soundtracks, psych, rock, jazz, and 70s synthesizers and vocoders. There is also a cosmic spatial awareness to their sound; both personal inner space and galactic outer space, as well as a wilful pushing of sonic boundaries.

Trees Speak are a musical duo based in Tucson, Arizona, composed of Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz. Their music is heavily influenced by the cosmic magic of the natural desert landscapes of Arizona, creating a unique and captivating sound that is both experimental and innovative.

Here you will find the myriad sounds of 1970s German electronic music (everything from Can to Cluster, Popul Vuh to Tangerine Dream); 1980s New York post-punk and synthcore (from No Wave to Suicide); John Barry’s 1960s movies, John Carpenter’s 1970s horror. You will also hear the influences of French and Italian progressive rock (Magma, Goblin) as well as cosmic, new age and experimental space soundscapes …. an almost endless list of diverse influences that ebb and flow like an ocean of sound, in the process creating a truly unique soundscape that Trees Speak have made wholly their own.

The name Trees Speak reflects their interest in the concept of using future technologies to store information and data in trees and plants, with the idea that trees communicate collectively. This interest in nature and technology, combined with their passion for experimentation, has led Trees Speak to create a truly one-of-a-kind listening experience that is both unique and engaging.

If you ever wanted to hear Can, Neu!, Destroy All Monsters, Pere Ubu, electric eels, John Cage, Liquid Liquid, Tangerine Dream, Suicide, Laurie Spiegel, Art Ensemble of Chicago, John Barry, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, Sun Ra, Stockhausen, John Carpenter, Electro-Acoustic and Musique Concrete and Mars in one band - then this is it! Trees Speak are a band that defies categorization and offer an eclectic listening experience, both exciting and memorable.

The two bonus tracks (‘Seraphim’ and ‘Orpheus’) included with the album give us a further window into the complex mind maze of the group - two stunning acoustic tracks that explore a distinct early 70s sound of Yes, Argent and other progressive rock accolytes.

The first release of the new label Surfaced Trax submerges into deep waters, delivering three sonically rich compositions aimed at late-night peak-times and early-morning sun rising hours.

The 'Liquid Terrain EP' was produced by Parallax Deep and remixed by Christopher Ledger. And while "Liquid" takes the listener through minimalized yet funky arrangements of precise drum programming and steady grooves, "Terrain", on the other hand, explores the in-between palettes of the electro & acid genres with plenty of rhythmic experimentation and wonky modulations.

On the remix duties, the Italian wizard Christopher Ledger works his magic on "Liquid", turning it into a highly textured, deeply atmospheric, slightly acidic breakbeat monster.

Stunning and tonally fitting collage artwork by Joagi.

The Havoc guys have been on an enforced hibernation through the winter due to a lurgy that had been affecting the planet. They have remained in the cave throughout this time huddling up to keep warm and exploring what had become their home away from home for months on end. One night, whilst lighting a fire, trying to find motivation for the next release (basket weaving had lost its appeal) they spotted a glint across the way – On further inspection, it was a small bottle and had a label of sorts – It looked to be medicine or smelling salts – Liquid Gold. Curious creatures they are they all took a long good sniff of this elixir. And just like that, they rummaged around the records stacked in the corner put some more coal in the old computer and began their work.

Soon the A-Side of the new EP was born. Most certainly a step up in the BPM from the previous A-Side off EP1. A1 kicks off with a Germanic Proto Throb Job, that's sure to cause errr...Havoc on the dance floor. Whilst A2 is a Bassline Driven, Reconstructed Austrian Euro Pop Monster. One for late-night Discos.

After a while they had stopped sweating, hearts had stopped beating quite so quick. Whilst the creative juices were flowing a few more records were dug out and a log put on the fire and a cup of fungus juice imbibed. B2 came rattling out the speakers in no time at all in all its chugging glory, the vocals take in a nod to god after the devil has done his dirty work.

At this point, the sun was starting to peek through the mouth of the cave and a new day was upon them. One last record had been found, earlier, that was decided would work at this time, actually after consideration, any damn time... B2 Is like a familiar Balearic Back rub with pop-infused French vocals and beats for days...So now EP2 is complete. Back out into the world our intrepid or is it tepid threesome went... Let's only hope their wives haven't left them after all this time locked away.


DJ Support:

Jim (HMD)
Bill Brewster
Kelvin Andrews
Eric Duncan
Al Mackenzie
James Holroyd (Begin)
Pete Herbert
Phil Mison
Nick The Record
Justin Robertson
Coyote
Mind Fair
Steve KIW
Craig Christian
Dr Rob
Dave Jarvis
Max Essa
Andy Simms (Soft Rocks)
Howler
Jaye Ward
Nancy Noise
Andy Taylor (WATS)
Graeme Fisher
Severino (HMD)

As Nathan Fake rises from the nocturnal subterranea and rave catharsis of his previous records, on Evaporator, he resurfaces into the domain of daylight, bringing a tangible sense of air rushing against your face, of big skies, and endless landscapes.

The idea of pop accessibility that trickled into 2023’s Crystal Vision is refracted here through the prism of sweeping ambient, deep electronica, and trance uplift. Evaporator is Fake’s idea of “airy daytime music”, with each track a different barometer reading across the album’s varying atmospheres, which range from vibrant sunbursts, bracing rainscapes, and fine mists of clement melodics. “It’s not overtly confrontational electronic club music,” states Fake. “It’s quite pleasant, it’s accessible. As I was progressing through making the tracklist, I called it a daytime album. It doesn’t feel like an afterparty album.” For the past decade Fake has been gingerly introducing collaborations with heroes and friends alike into his lone, idiosyncratic working process.

Border Community alumni Dextro AKA Ewan Mackenzie transmutes his ferocious drumming for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs into the blurred choral thump of ‘Baltasound’. ‘Orbiting Meadows’, meanwhile, is his second collaboration with Clark, an eerily idyllic duet where microtonal 18EDO piano clangs slowly twirl around wailing pads. Evaporator marks the junction point of old technology and ever fresh creativity for Nathan. The trusty “dinosaur” age software, particularly Cubase VST5, that has powered two decades of music is rarely updated. “I used to sort of feel a bit ashamed of using such old software, and then I kind of had an epiphany – that’s just how I work”, comments Fake. “That’s just how I play. I’m very fond of these old tools, and I get the most joy out of them, but now I’ve incorporated new technology too.” When an artist accumulates so much synergy with their instrument, music making becomes instinctual. By Fake’s account, much of Evaporator just fell into place. The album title arrived randomly in his head (“it felt completely perfect. Airy.”), ideas looped and developed until things locked into place and just felt right. ‘The Ice House’ is a fleeting glimpse of the sonic world he taps into in this creative state, its glassy FM synths built around a counterpoint between rough-hewn crystalline arpeggios and sparse yet gravitas-bearing bass. “That riff I just wrote out on the keyboard, I just played it forever and ever and ever.

The original track ended up being really short. Here you go, and it’s gone!” These unplanned channellings of sound call forth records from Fake’s past while he looks ahead, perhaps getting at the very essence of his musicianship. The opener ‘Aiwa’ (“the breeziest,” he muses) reminds of the introspection that characterised Providence, excited by the fire and grit of Steam Days’ textural experiments, its chunky slams and clatters surging into a flood of harmonic buzzing as they reach out for old wisdom. ‘Hypercube’ stampedes in a similar chronological confluence, infusing an incessant synth line reminiscent of the golden age of rave with the crackling, ecstatic energy of modern festival anthems. Like the vaporisation of liquid to particles, everything that Evaporator presents has a mutant desire to be amorphous. Sounds rarely settle; the irradiated garage beat of ‘Bialystok’ is pitched downwards to driving, rebounding effect, while ‘You’ll Find a Way’ warps static into shivering energy, cinematic synth strings building anticipation into a gradual gush of chords. This translates into a more expansive stereo field than Fake has explored before.


‘Slow Yamaha’ saves the wildest, most kinetic transformations for last with a cornucopia of crispy melodies and fried drums; a sibilance of cymbals on the left, a susurrus of shakers on the right, and kaleidoscopic lasers pulsing and fizzing all around. Evaporation culminating in pure excited atoms.

The 10,000 strong party drew together DJs, fans, listeners, singers, live acts and MCs together to showcase every shade and style encompassing a 174 heartbeat. As the Finsbury Park fun continues and round two promising even bigger stage takeovers and a myriad of artist weaponry, we present an equally bursting drum & bass double disc, the 'Hospitality In The Park 2017' LP. In the same vein as our all- day summer special, this huge 70 track mash- up spans across a full 360' perspective of the genre; representing the established, up and coming, soulful, obscure, liquid, innovative, dark, techy, neuro, jungle style and everything in between.

Included are over 25 brand new exclusives from reputable drum & bass titans Danny Byrd, S.P.Y, Makoto and Keeno, there are VIPs from Metrik and Nu:Logic, remixes from Hugh Hardie, Total science, Camo & Krooked and Calibre, and a 'Bullet Proof' banger from Krakota. Across two mixed CDs we've drawn for this year's surefire summer weapons with Fred V & Grafix, The Prototypes, 1991, High Contrast, The Upbeats, Breakage in the mix. With this year's Incubator stage pulling artists that are rising through the ranks, up and comers' Whiney, Unglued, GLXY and Kyrist bring exciting new offerings to the compilation.

Both fans and artists came together from all over the globe last year and we expect no less in 2017. Equally, this compilation gives an international perspective covering all corners of the globe from Japan's Mountain, the USA's Flite and Ownglow, the Netherlands Black Sun Empire and New Zealand's Shapeshifter. Drum & bass is stronger than ever and it's here to stay. See you at the park!

BBE Music announces the first repress of the classic Roy Ayers albums ‘Virgin Ubiquity’ 1 and 2 since 2006, on luxurious 180g vinyl with brand new sleeve notes written by Sean P. The music on 'Virgin Ubiquity' was selected and mixed down from previously unreleased multi-tracks recorded between 1976 & 1981, which Roy had in storage. It's all unmistakably Ayers, but is diverse and fresh enough to be more than a mere adjunct to one of his most productive and popular periods - testament to his and his musicians' creative abilities, as much of most revered Ayers output stems from this time. These discoveries take their place beside some illustrious company in a timeline bookended by 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' and 'Africa, Center Of The World', several solo and Ubiquity albums, collaborations with Wayne Henderson & Fela Kuti, as well as guesting on LPs by Buster Williams and Herbie Mann. Out of print on vinyl and CD for over a decade now, BBE is delighted to re- present these groundbreaking Roy Ayers titles, neatly coinciding with the 45th anniversary of his classic album ‘Mystic Voyage’ and a UK tour to commemorate it during April 2020.

Originally dropped in 1980 as part of Taking Care of Business, The Ted Coleman Band's only album, this 7" captures that sweet spot where jazz-funk meets rare groove perfection. 'If We Took the Time' is pure sunshine - think Roy Ayers on a slow afternoon, Billy Wooten in full cosmic flow, with shimmering vibraphones, velvet basslines and vocals that radiate soul from the Garden State to the cosmos. On the flip is the liquid and lively smooth and sexy delight 'Can You Feel It ' with buttery vocals and more cosmic bliss. Two glorious sounds.

London label Only Music Matters rolls out more mysterious goodness here from another unknown artist. On this evidence, they like the afters and the moments in the night when time and space dissolve and subtly rule. 'AAA001A' is an elastic, dubby minimal tech cut with liquid pads and trippy vocal twist while the next cut is speedier but no less supple. This cosmic odyssey is marbled with vocal fragments, prickly acid and deft percussion and it all weaves endlessly while hypnotising perfectly. 'BBB002B' is more sparse and roomy, with grubby bass ripples and glitchy electronics colouring the groove. Priku and Arapu have already dropped this one to great receptions at Sunwaves 36 so if it's good enough for them...